Mail-bag catching and delivering device.



No. 861,009! PATENTED JULY 23, 1907.

'- 0. R. YEAGER.

MAIL BAG GATGHING AND DELIVERING DEVICE.

APPLIUATION FILED MAY 6, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Skim awn N 361,009. PATENTED JULY 23, 1907. c. R. YEAGER.

MAILBAG GATGHING 'AND DELIVERING DE-VIGE.

APPLIGATION rum) MAY 6.1991. v

' 2 sums-sum 2.

(Viz kept? R Kenya:

- inaiter fully described and claimed, reference being- UhlliElD STK5E PATENT ()FFICE.

CLARENCE R. YEAGER, or FREEPORT, ILLINOIS.

MAIL-BAG CATQHING ANDDELIVERING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented July 23, 190%.

Application findma aieoj. Serial No. 372,101.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, CLARENCE It. YEAGER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Frceport,

in the county of Stephenson and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catching and Delivering Devices, of which the follow-' ing is a specification;

This invention relates to improvements in mail bag catching and delivering devices, the object in view being to provide a simple, ellicient and reliable construction ofmeans upon a mail car and at mail stations along the line of a railway for taking up and delivering sacks of mail matter.

The invention consists of the novel featuresoi'etp struction, combination and. an'a'ngement of parts herehad to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the catching and delivering devices upon a car and at a mail station with sacks supported thereon for transfer from one to the other. Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the horizontal arm of the post of the stationary catching and delivering device taken on a line between the track bars thereof, showing portions oi said device and the traveling catching and delivering device in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the.

catching and delivering devices. Fig. 4 is an end elevation'thcreof. Fig. 5 is an inner perspective view of the parts of the traveling catching and delivering device, the bracket arm appearing in section.

Referring to the drawings, 1 and 2, respectively,

represent traveling and stationary mail bag catching I and delivering devices, the device 1 being mounted upon a traveling clement, suchas a mail ear 3, while one of the devices 2 is provided at each mail station i-along the line of the railway for cooperation with the said device 1.

The device 1 comprises a vertical bracket bard secured at its lower end to the side of the car adjacent to the doorway and provided at its upper end with an outwardly projecting horizontal arm 5, supporting two spaced parallel track rails or bars 6, secured centrally to said arm and arranged in a plane parallel with the side of the car. The respective ends 7 and 8 oi the bars or rails are adapted to operate interchangeably as catching and delivering fingers, accordingly as the 'car travels in one direction or the other, and said fingers are formed with beveled surfaces 9 to provide an enlarged entrance to the space therebetween.

The stationary catching and delivering. device 2 comprises a supporting post composed, in the form shown, of a pair or" parallelstandards 1.0 embedded at their lower ends in the ground or otherwise suitably supported at one side 01' the track. The standards carry at their upper ends inwardly extending arms 11 projecting horizontally toward the trackway, and

transversely arranged on said arms ll-are track bars or rails 12 conforming in construction-am] arrangement to the bars 6 of the device -1, .the ends of said bars 12 fm'ming catching and delivering fingers l3 and l4, adapted to be interchangeably used for either purpose.

the same, the two bars 15 being connected adjacent therewith by cross pieces or plates 16.: The latch bars are rigidly fastened to a central fulcrum bar 17 adapted and bears terminally upon the plates .16. Through the center'of this spring projects the upper threaded ing against the cent er of the spring to hold it in position and regulate its pressure on the plates 16, by which means the tilting action of saidlatch bars may be regulated and, controlled. The opposite ends of upon the upper surface of therails 6 and [2. At its device 26 for engagement with a ring 27 upon the top of a mail bag 28, whereby the latter may be suspended from one of the sets-of fingers on the device 1 for transfer to the device 2. At its upper'cnd the bar 24 is provided on opposite sides with keeperlugs or projections the device 2 and to ride beneath the ends of the latch bars and snap-into engagement with recesses 22.

In" Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown the catching and delivering devices respectively arranged upon a car traveling in the direction of the arrow, and alongside of the track at one of the mail stations, with bagssupother. It will be observed that the bag carried by the traveling device l is suspendedfmm a bracket 24 projecti-ng upwardly betweenthe rear fingers '8 with its arranged in the path of the rear latclrarms oi the bars 15 in the direction of travel of the car, while the bag 28 is supported from a similar bracket 24 which hangs suspended. from the forward vfingers 14 of the device 1 outer end the bar 24 carries a snap hook or other suitable Latch devices are employed for use in conjpnction with the bars 12 and comprise bars 15 arranged above to rock upon the'rails 12 said bar 17 being vertically slotted for the passage of a coupling bolt 18 fixed at its lower end in a bracket or cross piece 19 secured to the underside of the arms 11. A bowed plate spring 20 is disposed above and on a line between the latch bars end of the bolt I8 which carries a thumb nut 21 bear-.

the latch bars are arranged respectively above the ate point with rollers 25 at opposite 'sidesthereof to'rest 29 of proper form to rest and slideupon the rails 12' of I ported upon said devices for transieral from one to the rollers resting upon said fingers. and its locking lugs-29 by its,locking lugs 29 which are held by the forward looking arms of the latch bars.15. .As the car moves supported thereon slide over-upon the lingers l3 and snap under the rear ends oithearms oi the latch bars, and are held in the recesses 22 of said arms by the pres sure of the re'ar end of the spring 20, the bag being released from engagement with the device 1 by the stoppage of 'movement of the suspending device thereon,

whose wheels or rollers travel along and run oil the fingers 8. Simultaneously with this operation the lorward lingers-Tel the device pass on opposite sides ol the bracketor suspending device 24, hanging from the catching and delivering device 2 and beneath the rollers of said suspending device, which run along the fingers 7 until the bar 5 engages said suspending do vice 24 and causes the latter to be forcibly withdrawn from engagement with the front latch arms of the (lovice 2 under the forward motion of the car, the lugs 29 of'said suspending device sliding outward ofl the rails 14in this operation, as-will be readily understood.

If-desired, latch mechanism may'be employed upon the device 1 to hold the hag-supporting carriage. in

- position against possible disconnection until released by cooperative action with the device 2. To this end a support 30 is secured to the arm 5 parallel with and arranged on the inner side of the inner rail 6, and to said support is hinged or pivoted, as at 31, a lever 32 connected at its lower end by a link 33 with a bracket 33 fixed to a plate 34 slidahle on support 30; Latch 'forward,'the'lugs 29 upon the mail suspending device.

bars 35 and 36 are adaptcd to project across and close the spaces between the respective fingers 7 and 8 midway of the length thereofand are slidably mounted at their inner endsin recesses 30 in the upper face of I the support ilo. In the underside of the plate 34am segmental grooves 37 receiving friction rollers 38 on the latches, so that when the lever is swung from its normal vertical position in either direction the plate 341 will I be moved in one direction or the other, while the" cam grooves 37 will act upon the rollers 38 to slide thellatclr barsinwardly and thus retract them. When the lever is vertically arranged the latches are projected so as to lie in'the path-ot outward movement of the bag supporting carriage along the fingers 8, arid the admission ofihe. bag supported on the device 2 to the inner end oi'the space between fingers 7 The parts are held-in operation, the upper end of the lever strikes the bar 19,

which lies in its path, as shown in Fig.4, whereby the sliding plate is moved rearwardly to retract the latches,

permitting rclease ol the bag on lingers 8 of device 1 I lor transfer to lingers 13 (ii device 2, as well-as the normal position by a spring 39 acting on the lever. In

transfer of the bag from device 1 to the rails or lingers laces, latch bars cooperating with said surfaces,

7 spring controlling both sets of latch arms.

and the movable arm 42, said springs tending to mainthe rails 6 to shift laterally in either direction to compensate for lateral play of the mail car, as to bring the catching and delivering devices into direct alinemcnt for transfer of the bags when the parts come into en gage ment. I i should not be in direct line with-the slot between fingers 7 and should strike against the extreme outer poi .tions of the diverging ends ol' said lingers, the pressure or" said carriage will cause the rails 6 to be shifted to secure a proper alinement.

From the foregoingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and mode of operation of the device will be readily underll, for instance, the carriage on device 2 lain the parts in normal position. The springs allow stood, and it will be seen that a simpl'e, .relia,ble and ellicient construction of catching and delivering apparatus is provided. The mode of supporting the bags from the devices 1 and 2 when thetrain is trav' the reverse direction will be apparent. I I

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is:-

i in a mail hag catching and delivering apparatus, a caicarrylng' a bracket, horizontal parallel rails centrally secured to the bracket and projecting'oppositely there from to provide sets of supporting rails, and a bug suspending device having wheels or rollers to travel onsald rails.

in a mall hug catching and delivering device. a bag suspending rlevice comprising a bar or bracket having bag snspending' means, said bracket being provided at an intermediate point with wheels or rollers'and above the same wltli oppositely arranged locking devices.

1;. In a mail bag catching and delivering apparatus, a supporting postjspaced parallel bars supported by the post and providing oppositely projecting fingers and track surand a sprlng pressure device acting on said bars. I

4. In a mail beg catching and delivering device, 0. shoand track -surfaces, a latch device comprising connected ha rs,having a'tilting motion, said lmrsbeing provided with latch, arms cooperutingqvith said fingers, and a pressure 5. In a mail bagcatching andjdelivering device, a sup porting post, parallel bars centrally mounted thereon and extending in opposite directions to form lingers and track surfaces, latch bars arranged above said track surfaces and mounted to tilt thereon, said liars firming latch arms for cooperation wtth the fingers, a spring bearing terminally upon the latch arms, and means for regulating the pressure of said springs, whereby the extent oftiiting action of the latch bars is controlled. v 61 Mail hag catching and delivering apparatus comprisins relatively traveling and stationary catching and delivering devices, each provided with oppositely projecting spaced lln gers and track surfaces, spring-actuated latches cooperating with the iingersof the stationary device, and

bngjsuspcnding devices, each comprising a bar orbracket having bug suspending means and provided with rollers upon the track surfaces of the travcling device with locking projections to run upon the track surfaces of the stationary device and to engage said latch devices.

.in testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. Y

CLARENCE R. YEAGER;

' Witnesses: I i

. portiug post, parallel bars supported by the post and projecting' in opposite'directions therefrom to form fingers 

